This invention pertains to illuminated gloves and more particularly, it pertains to self-contained fibre-optic arrangements mounted inside illuminated gloves.
It is believed that the earliest models of illuminated gloves were used by trainmen to signal train conductors. In the early days of the automobile, illuminated gloves were also used by operators to indicate an intention to slow down or to change direction. More recently, surgical gloves with a finger-mounted light were developed to aid surgeons performing delicate surgical operations.
Although illuminated gloves are very practical apparels, their amusement character makes them particularly suitable for use as toys. This amusement character is kept at its best when the illumination system is well dissimulated inside the glove and its lighting produces an effect of surprise. Basically, this is one of the objectives of the present invention.
In regard to the prior art in this field, the following documents represent a good inventory of the illuminated gloves preceding the present invention. These documents are divided in three groups as follows.
The illuminated gloves in the first group have electrical wiring therein with light bulbs mounted at various places on the glove. A switch is provided and is usually operable by the thumb and the index finger. A battery is mounted in the wrist pad of the glove. Examples of the illuminated gloves in this first group are available in the following US Patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,199,710 issued on Sep. 26, 1916 to W. J. Newton;
U.S. Pat. No. 1,215,389 issued on Feb.,13, 1917 to P. E. Lauray;
U.S. Pat. No. 1,230,943 issued on Jun. 26, 1917 to A. Sundh;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,011 issued on Jan. 25, 1972 to M. H. Bain et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,467 issued on Jan. 5, 1993 to T. Chung-Piao;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,154 issued on Dec. 3, 1996 to J. D. Coulter et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,357 issued on Dec. 28, 1999 to J. E. Mead;
Some of the illuminated gloves of the prior art have an optical fibre mounted along one finger thereof with a light source at the tip of that finger, such as the surgeon glove mentioned above. Examples of these gloves are available in the following documents
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,378 issued on Feb. 4, 1992 to M. W. Prince;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,722 issued on Feb. 1, 1994 to H. P. Koenen et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,105 issued on Jul. 9, 1996 to H. P. Koenen Myers et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,676 issued on Oct. 6, 1998 to H. P. Koenen Myers et al.;
Finally, the prior art documents also disclose another type of illuminated glove having a single light circle mounted on the back-of-the-hand portion. The light circle is made of a plurality of optical fibers originating from a single light source inside the cuff of the glove. This type of glove is illustrated and described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,922 issued on Jun. 13, 1995 to J. S. Wise;
Although several solutions have been proposed in the past to illuminate a glove, it is believed that there is still a market demand for an illuminated glove which has the flexibility, feeling and appearance of an ordinary glove when the illumination system is not used. There is also a market need for a glove illumination system that is more appropriate for dissimulation inside amusement gloves for youths.
In the present invention, there is provided an illuminated glove in which is incorporated a fibre-optic arrangement. This fibre-optic arrangement is thin and flexible over the back-of-the-hand portion and the hand-knuckle region of the glove. The fibre-optic arrangement has extensible sections therein for reducing flexion stiffness and fibre tension. The glove according to the present invention has the appearance of an ordinary glove when the illumination feature is unlit. In use, it has the feeling, flexibility and endurance of an ordinary glove. The mystical aspect of this glove when lit in the dark is thereby undiminished.
Broadly, in accordance with one feature of the present invention, there is provided a glove having an outside layer, a wrist band, at least one finger, a back-of-the-hand portion and a hand-knuckle region between the wrist band and the finger. A fibre-optic arrangement is mounted under the outside layer. This fibre-optic arrangement is affixed to the outside layer and comprises a fibre-optic ribbon extending along the finger. A portion of this ribbon is visible through an opening in the outside layer. A light source is mounted near the wrist band, and a plurality of optical fibres extend loosely over the back-of-the-hand portion and the hand-knuckle region, from the light source to the fibre-optic ribbon. The glove according to the present invention further comprises a slack or a loose bend in the plurality of optical fibres for allowing a flexion of the finger without applying any tension on the light source. Preferably, the slack or the loose bend is an offset between and relative to the light source and the finger.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the fibre-optic arrangement illuminates openings on all four fingers and the thumb of the glove. Although the plurality of optical fibres in this aspect of the invention contains five bundles with a loose bend in each one, this fibre-optic arrangement has been found particularly advantageous for maintaining the flexibility of the glove substantially the same as a common non-illuminated glove.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the glove has an inside lining and the fibre-optic arrangement is mounted between the inside lining and the outside layer. Each fibre-optic ribbon comprises a backing piece which is glued to the inside lining, and the outside layer is glued to a top surface of the fibre-optic ribbon.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the glove has a cuff adjacent the wrist band, and a switch and a control circuit including a battery are mounted in that cuff. An extensible wiring bend is provided between the switch and the light source. The illumination system is thereby self contained and is controllable using the switch.
In a further aspect, each fibre-optic ribbon protrudes through the outside layer on an extremity of a respective finger, thereby defining a finger-end illumination variant of the present invention. Preferably, each fibre-optic ribbon has a lens on the end thereof to enhance the illumination of this first variant.
In accordance with a second illumination variant, the outside layer of the glove has openings along the top surface of each finger and the fibre-optic ribbons comprise reflective backings thereunder. The ribbons are visible through the top openings, to produce a finger-top illumination.
In accordance with a third illumination variant, the outside layer has openings over the back-of-the-hand portion of the glove, and the fibre-optic arrangement has a reflective backing over the back-of-the-hand region such that the plurality of optical fibres are visible through these back-of-the-hand openings to produce a back-of-the-hand illumination pattern. Preferably this pattern defines the logo of a sport team, or a symbol representing the character of a story book or the hero of a futuristic movie, in order to enhance the amusing aspect of the glove.
Still another feature of the illuminated glove of the present invention is that it is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low price of salt to the consumer, thereby making such glove economically available to the public.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.